Blood of a Huntress
by GlitchWarrior
Summary: So yeah. There's a vampire at Beacon. And nobody- not even me- knows who they're gonna strike next. Now it's up to Weiss to stop this murderous half-Grimm before they kill everyone. (A murder mystery where the victims are completely random. Thought of it myself, even if the idea isn't totally original. Minor OC presence. Feel free to review!)
1. The Pryce of Survival

_**So I wrote**** the beginnings of a Sonic murder mystery a few years ago. And promptly forgot about it because I didn't know who to kill next. Well, with a new year comes a new fandom, a new batch of victims... and a new way to select said victims.**_

_**Chapter 1: The Pryce of Survival**_

* * *

A cold whisper flowed through the night. Not cold as in, "low temperature," though. Cold as in, "an uneasy atmosphere.

Suddenly, a loud cry jostled me awake. I quickly threw on the closest thing that I could wear and raced downstairs. Somebody was in SERIOUS trouble. I grabbed my bag on the way out, since, of course, a huntress always needs to be prepared.

I rushed out to the courtyard, my weapon drawn. What I found was nothing short of terrifying- another huntsman in training, half-dressed, in a feral state. But what was more notable was that the guy was caked in blood- either human or faunus, could have been either- and he was sporting claws and fangs. His eyes were glowing a sinister red color. And then he noticed me.

A scream rung out, but I'm still not sure if it was mine or the creature's. It began charging at breakneck speed, but before it could sink its fangs into my flesh, something whizzed by my face. It struck my former classmate in the chest, and he collapsed, dead.

"That was a close call, young lady," spoke the voice of Beacon's resident hyperactive teacher. "Although not all students can stare down a creature of that sort without soiling their pants in terror. You've certainly already got the fortitude of a huntress, that much is true."

I turned to face Doctor Oobleck. "What... was that?"

He stared at the monster, who now had a stake in his heart. "From the looks of it, " he said, "it used to be Liam Pryce."

* * *

My name is Weiss Schnee, huntress-in-training, and it is with a heavy heart that I recall these events. Honestly, this still hurts to think of, as more huntsmen and huntresses- more accurately, including some dear friends- would perish to the same menace that turned Liam Pryce into a monster in the coming weeks.

Liam, as I would soon find out, was a member of team YELO, a team of second-years here at Beacon. His team didn't take too kindly to his death. Yin Kasumi, the team's leader, was taking it best. He managed to look composed, but I knew it was a facade. He was definitely in grief. He was handling it better, though, than Orson Drew, who spent most of the next twenty-four hours in tears, or Emmi Wynn, who swore that she would find Liam's killer and get some payback.

The truth of what actually happened would be revealed, though, in Oobleck's class the next day, as he was describing an incredibly rare variety of Grimm.

"There exists in this world," he said, "a species of Grimm that holds power unfathomable to the human mind. These Grimm, better known as the Nosferatu, are essentially the vampires of folklore but worse. By day they look just like any other human or faunus on Remnant, but at night, they prowl the lands, seeking for blood. Their claws tear off meat from their prey easily. The most startling aspect of the Nosferatu, though, is their ability to transform a victim into one of their own. Their fangs are coated in a mysterious substance with the power to transform their unlucky victims into one of their own, turning you directly into a Grimm, do not pass GO, do not possess the ability to heal yourself with your aura. The creatures only have one weakness, scarily enough- wooden stakes through their hearts."

He looked me in the eye. "But I feel that the knowledge I shared just now would have been most beneficial just last night. Am I not wrong, Miss Schnee?"

This lesson revealed a great much to us. But more importantly, it implied something horrible. It was highly unlikely that Liam Pryce had been a Nosferatu the previous day.

Which could only mean one thing- there was still one in the school.

* * *

"That has to have been the most interesting class this year," Blake mused as she sat on her bed. "Vampires? I knew Dr. Oobleck was a little off, but I'd have to see it to believe it."

"Actually," I said, "truth be told, I wouldn't be questioning him right now. You know how Liam Pryce 'fell in battle against the Grimm' last night? Yeah, uh... that's only partially true."

Yang looked up from her scroll. "Keep talking."

"Last night, I was awoken by a loud screech. When I investigated, I found Liam... But he wasn't himself." I thought about the events of the last twenty-four hours. "If Dr. Oobleck hadn't found me... I'd likely be either dead... or one of THEM by now. "

"Whoa," the blonde said. "You getting PTSD just thinking about it?"

"No, but I am concerned," I replied. "The Nosferatu that turned Liam into that thing... It was never killed. They're still on campus."

As I said it, thoughts of who it could be flashed across my mind. The vampire could be anyone else at Beacon. It obviously couldn't be me, but every other student at the academy was fair game, as well as the whole faculty- even Oobleck could be a Nosferatu, for all I knew.

"Somebody should get it under control," Ruby said. "I wanna kill a vampire, too!"

Yang's face flashed with horror. "Ruby, no. You may

be a huntress-in-training, but you're also my half-sister. And if anything happens to you on MY watch-"

"Dad's gonna kill you?"

"I'd just as soon kill myself."

The air in the room became tense. The fact that Yang would go as far as to commit suicide if Ruby died under her watch spoke volumes of her personality.

"Also?" she added, on a lighter note, "I'm freaking starving. When's that lunch bell gonna ring?"

* * *

The rest of the day was kind of a blur. I remember Emmi shouting to the world that she would slay the creature responsible for the death of her teammate if it was the last thing she did. I also remember various students each announcing that they would make sure this Nosferatu would be brought to justice. Most of us were pretty calm, though.

Which is because most of the other students had no idea that there was a murderous vampire on campus. This group encompassed the majority of students- no idea that any of us were in danger. Jaune, Neptune, Scarlet, Dove, Yatsuhashi, Ren, and quite a few others fell into that category.

The second group was made up of people who were made uneasy by Oobleck's lecture, but thought it wasn't their problem, or just didn't think they could do much about it. Velvet, Blake, Sky, Sage, Orson, Russel, Pyrrha, Mercury, Yin and Yang, among others, fell into that category.

The last group included myself, Nora, Fox, Sun, Coco, Penny, Cardin, Emerald, Ruby (much to Yang's chagrin), and most notably Emmi- sounds big, but that's because the other two groups were packed with people of little import. Our group was mostly just the ten of us, plus a couple of other students. We were the ones who wanted to make sure that the Nosferatu didn't take another student.

Unfortunately for us, we couldn't have been more wrong. Because the next morning, a second victim would be found... one who didn't even get the saving grace of conversion.

* * *

**_A.N.: So there we have it: first chapter. As time goes on, I'll list every major character and their status. To be blunt, these "major characters" translate to teams RWBY, JNPR, CRDL, CFVY, SSSN, and YELO (OC's), as well as Mercury, Emerald, and Penny, and Dr. Oobleck. In addition, as more characters appear in the story (read, Ozpin, Qrow, etc.), I'll add them to the list._**

**Bartholomew Oobleck - Living**

**Blake Belladonna - Living**

**Cardin Winchester - Living**

**Coco Adel - Living**

**Dove Bronzewing - Living**

**Emerald Sustrai - Living**

**Emmi Wynn - Living**

**Fox Alistair - Living**

**Jaune Arc - Living**

**Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain**

**Lie Ren - Living**

**Mercury Black - Living**

**Neptune Vasalias - Living**

**Nora Valkyrie - Living**

**Orson Drew - Living**

**Penny Polendina - Living**

**Pyrrha Nikos - Living**

**Ruby Rose - Living**

**Russel Thrush - Living**

**Sage Ayano - Living**

**Scarlet David - Living**

**Sky Lark - Living**

**Sun Wukong - Living**

**Velvet Scarlatina - Living**

**Weiss Schnee - Living**

**Yang Xiao Long - Living**

**Yatsuhashi Daichi - Living**

**Yin Kasumi - Living**

**_So first kill of the story. Naturally it's an OC. But I planned that. With each chapter from here on, I'll let the RNG determine who dies\is converted. Not even I will know who lives and dies. With the exception of Weiss and our mysterious vampire, every character who has appeared in this tale is at risk. And while I've decided the next round will be a kill, I'll also decide whether the creature steals their blood or their soul with each chapter. Everything that has happened thus far was planned. The next chapter won't be so lucky, as a completely random character is GOING to die and I can't do anything about it. No favoritism from Glitch, if Yang or Penny is rolled up that's game for them. Weiss is the only confirmed-to-be immune character, and she's the protagonist._**

**_One more thing: I imagine the "Nosferatu's Curse" is carried through Aura, not blood. So if I roll "Corrupt Penny", I won't have to burn time trying to figure out how one goes about turning an android into a vampire._**

**_Anyway, what do you guys think of this idea? Let me know, and I'll see you next time._**


	2. When Heroes Die

**_All right! Chapter 2 is here. Time to see which character bites the Dust today! (spins wheel)This is gonna be_**-

(**_wheel stops)_**

**_Oh. It's gonna be one of THOSE stories._**

**_Chapter 2_**

**_When Heroes Die_**

* * *

The next morning, the ten of us who agreed to hunt down the missing Nosferatu were given a rude awakening. Fox threw my team's door open with a panicked look on his face.

"Guys," he said, "I woke up this morning earlier than the rest of my team. I decided to wake them up... but Yatsu wouldn't budge." A tear rolled down from his eye. "His aura, his pulse... It was all at zero."

Ruby and I exchanged glances. The vampire had struck again.

* * *

The room of Team CFVY was quickly established as the scene of the murder of Yatsuhashi Daichi. The samurai's body was removed from the room so that the biology team could study this nonsense. After a few hours, they reported what I'd feared from the beginning.

"There were puncture marks on the boy's neck," Professor Port announced. "I'm afraid that such a method of murder is the preferred method of the Nosferatu."

Coco and Fox both looked solemn, while Velvet was in tears. "Yatsuhashi," she cried. "Why..."

"Come on, easter bunny," Cardin said, having arrived at the scene himself. "It could be worse. It could've been you."

"It should have been," she moaned. "He swore he'd protect me, and now..."

"Get up," Winchester growled, grabbing her ear and pulling her off the floor. "All of this crying is making me angry."

"Hey, grow a heart, Cardin!" Jaune shouted. "It's your fault she was hiding behind him. You always picked on her anyway. It's, frankly, really unfair." He turned to face me and Fox, remembering that we'd formed an alliance with CRDL's leader the day before. "And if you really wanted to kill the Nosferatu, you'd stop stirring up so much negativity. It IS still a Grimm."

"You didn't let me finish!" Cardin added. "I was telling her that her crying was making me angry, but it's moreso that she's letting it all out! People. Die. You need to understand that, if there's a murderer in our ranks, that anyone can die, and that we need to suck it up and take it." He paused, looking at Yatsuhashi's bed. "The victim and I... We weren't exactly enemies."

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded. "Impossible. The two of you fought every other second."

"We were less enemies, more rivals," Cardin replied. "We both agreed that Velvet needed to get stronger, but we had clashing ideals on how to do it. Sad thing is..." He looked at the brunette bunny. "I'm only now starting to see how RIGHT he was. Getting stronger through force was my method. If you were weak, I would push you around until you got strong enough to fight back. He thought differently. He thought that if one wasn't strong... that teaching them how to defend themselves through gentler training was a better way."

"What's all the commotion?" asked a transfer student, coming down the hall. She had dark hair and golden eyes. She looked a bit older than the rest of us, but she WAS wearing a Haven uniform, so...

"Yatsuhashi was killed," replied Jaune. "We've been doing what we can, but Velvet's totally broken."

"Oh?" the girl asked. "Then perhaps I can help..." She approached Velvet calmly. "There, there..." she said. "It's okay. We'll find who did this."

She stood up, looking back to us. "That should ne good."

"Thanks, uh..." I paused. "I never got your name."

"Oh, how rude of me," she replied. "Cinder Fall, leader of Team CMSN."

"CMSN..." Jaune muttered... "Hey, wasn't that Mercury and Emerald's team?"

"Yeah!" Cardin replied. "We met your teammates. One of 'em even agreed to help take down that vampire!"

"Huh. Nice." Her reply was slow and thoughtful.

"Wait, hold on..." Jaune realized. "Cinder... You're the C in your team... Mercury is the M... You have Emerald's last name for your S... Who's the N?"

"Better question," Cardin added. "Why use Em's last name instead of her first?"

"Put the four letters together," Cinder replied, "and ask me that again. Also... Our teammate's name is Neo. She's nice, even if she IS quiet."

Neo? That was the name of one of Torchwick's goons. She WAS rather young, though, maybe even young enough to be a Haven student. It made too much sense. But I wasn't about to tell a girl I'd just met that her teammate might a psychopathic criminal.

"Neo?" I asked politely. "You'll have to introduce us sometime. I don't believe we've ever been acquainted".

"I would do it now," Cinder replied. "If there weren't more pressing matters to attend to. I will see upu shortly."

As she walked away, Professor Port looked serious. "I fear that won't be the case," he replied. "I'm afraid that until this monster is caught, the school must be placed on lockdown. No one comes in or out. And classes will be placed on hold until then."

It was official. Beacon was screwed.

* * *

**_(A.N.: That's done. A bit shorter than C1, but Yatsu dying helped flesh out Velvet and Cardin, both of whom have a history with him. Also, Port and Cinder make their debuts. So we have that.)_**

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Living_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Living_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Dove Bronzewing - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Living_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Livin_**g

**_Nora Valkyrie - Living_**

**_Orson Drew - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Russel Thrush - Living_**

**_Sage Ayano - Living_**

**_Scarlet David - Living_**

**_Sky Lark - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Living_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Living_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Living_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Yin Kasumi - Living_**

**_P_****_.S.: I named Cinder's team "CMSN" (pronounced "crimson" because it's better than the alternative. Also, I already rolled the next chapter up. I'm scared now._**


	3. The Eye of the Storm

**_Last chapter I mentioned things were about to go all kinds of wrong. That's because I spun the "death roulette" for this chapter as I was writing the end notes for the last one. Go fig._**

**_Chapter Three: The Eye of The Storm_**

* * *

Each day, more students were found dead. It was getting freaky. We'd been trying to track the damn thing for a week when we had our first "dead day". Ironically, we called it that because the Nosferatu hadn't killed anyone.

Unfortunately, it HAD struck.

We found a student coming into the school nurse's office claiming to have barely survived an encounter with the Nosferatu. He had the bite mark and everything. The school nurse was about to treat it when a gruff, drunken voice spoke.

"Don't bother," said an older man who almost looked like a scarecrow. "That kid's already dead."

"What are you saying?" I asked the man. "He looks fine to me."

"That's the trick," the man replied. "You heard Bart's lecture, li'l lady. He was bitten by a Nosferatu, and now he's gonna turn into one."

My eyes widened in recollection. "But... we can cure him, right?" I asked. "It's an older virus, so there has to be some sort of cure!"

"I'd think so too," the huntsman said, grasping his flask and taking a gulp. "But it's not a disease of the flesh... It's a disease of the aura. You can't just fix aura. It always rebuilds itself... as does the curse."

"Doc..." the boy moaned. "Why do I... feel so cold?"

The man turned to the doctor. "I'm sorry, but there's only one option. I'll make it quick."

* * *

A few days passed after that. Most of those days, things went the exact same way as before. Someone ends up dead, and there's no clue. It was becoming increasingly aggravating.

Having an extra huntsman on hand eased the fears of most students greatly, Ruby and Yang most of all. Not me. This huntsman, Qrow Branwen, was a teetering drunken mess. And my team leader's step-uncle, as it happened. How terrifying... The "legendary huntsman" Ruby called her Uncle Qrow was little more than an old drunk.

Or so I'd thought. He was rather capable even with a belly full of alcohol. I, one day, challenged him to a one-on-one duel, believing that with him drunk I'd be able to topple him, and shake Ruby's illusions of his grandeur. How wrong I was... I was trounced by him. I remember collapsing on my bed that day, thinking that if this was a DRUNK Qrow Branwen, what his skills would be when SOBER.

Time passed. More students died. Everyone at school knew about the Nosferatu in school now and was wondering why Headmaster Ozpin wasn't doing anything about it. Qrow and Oobleck argued that he knew and was doing his best to find the monster. Most were skeptical, but Ozpin always had a plan, and we all knew it.

Then we had another "dead day."

* * *

"All right, people," Emmi angrily shouted at lunch that day. "There are at least two Nosferatu at this table, and one of them is fresh off the fang. If one of you is infected, please, step forward so we can protect this school from further death!"

"If they went up," Mercury pointed out, "it'd be like holding up a giant sign that says 'I'm a vampire, shoot me first.' Nobody's gonna go willingly."

"Weird thing to say out loud," Emmi said. Then, she went a step further. "Naturally, YOU would want to cover up the beast's tracks... Could that be because it... got you?"

Mercury stood up. "Liar! I'm not a Nosferatu! What even GAVE you that impression?"

As the two of them broke into an argument, a note flew into the side of Yang's head. She read it, and then beckoned to me and Velvet to come with her. The three of us all left the cafeteria and arrived... in Professor Port's classroom.

"What's going on?" I asked. "Why are we here?"

The door closed behind us. None of the three of us had shut it. We all turned to see Ren, standing there. "Because we need to talk in private, and few of the others know how to keep their mouths shut. I know who the vampire's victim is, but you have to promise me that what I tell you doesn't leave this room."

"If you knew this whole time," Yang asked, "why didn't you bring it up in the cafeteria? It would've been WAY more helpful to-"

"Because," Ren interrupted, "I couldn't bear to say it out loud." He closed his eyes, a tear falling from his eye.

"It's Nora."

* * *

**_And done! Whoo, this was a blast to write. Now, I'm actually not going to outright kill off Nora like I did Liam and Yatsu. I've got a plan for the next story arc._**

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Living_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Living_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Dove Bronzewing - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Living_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Living_**

**_Nora Valkyrie - Converted (C3)_**

**_Orson Drew - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Qrow Branwen - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Russel Thrush - Living_**

**_Sage Ayano - Living_**

**_Scarlet David - Living_**

**_Sky Lark - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Living_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Living_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Living_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Yin Kasumi - Living_**


	4. Fallen Into Shadow

**_Yet more dumb madness... And this one is SURE to be a kick to the soul._**

**_Chapter 4: Fallen Into Shadow_**

* * *

"What?"

My jaw hung open. I couldn't believe it. Nora? A Nosferatu?

"It's unfortunately true," Ren described. "I spoke with her privately about this, and she explained that she'd been attacked last night. If she were to be found out..."

"I see why you called us, then," Yang said. "We can keep a secret- right, girls?"

Velvet and I nodded.

"Great," continued Yang. "But if Nora's infected, she clearly can't stay at Beacon... We need to get her off campus."

"How on earth do you propose we do THAT?" I asked. "School is on lockdown. For all we know, nobody has been able to leave since this mess started!"

"First of all," Yang explained, "we're going to need help from Uncle Qrow. He knows the school best out of everyone I know, except maybe Ozpin. I can probably squeeze out information on a way out even under lockdown, but he can't find out about Nora's condition. Second... We're gonna need Nora's full cooperation."

* * *

Getting Nora's "full cooperation" was harder than we thought it would be. She was all pouty about it, and even pointed out how as soon as she was free of these walls, she'd be putting more people in danger. To this, Ren reminded her that there are wild animals with perfectly drinkable blood. That, she was able to accept.

I made a mental note, at my own safety, to ensure that Zwei was fully protected. You know, to prevent a more devastating meltdown from Ruby and Yang.

The following night was long. We found Nora wandering the halls in the same feral state Liam had been in. Quickly, we distracted her. She chased us, sure enough, and we eventually came to a single delivery window. It opened from the inside, so we lifted the hatch. Yang produced a bloody steak from... somewhere... and threw it in.

Instantly, Nora pounced for the steak. She was outside. We re-latched the window, and decided to reinforce it when next we saw it for good measure. Who knew when that would be...

* * *

Yang and Velvet agreed to help Ren explain Nora's plight to the teachers, leaving out the part where we led her to the hatch in the first place. Thankfully, the school was more concerned about Grimm inside the building than outside, so nobody was sent to execute her. Honestly. This place is so flawed!

Good thing Yang still had her uncle's map of secret exits.

I, meanwhile, returned to my room. It was one of the last team dorms without danger. Or so I thought.

As I lay down in bed, beneath the slumbering Ruby, I had yet to realize Blake hadn't fallen asleep.

"Rough night?" she asked. "You wouldn't be alone."

My eyes widened. "Did the vampire-"

Blake slapped her hand over my mouth. "Not so loud, Weiss. You're going to wake Ruby. You know how she gets when aggravated."

I quieted down. "So... I guess you want to know where I've been. No secrets... Nora was infected, and me and Velvet were helping Yang and Ren bust her out. I just hope we never have to do that again..." I shook my head. "By tomorrow, that hatch is probably going to be welded shut."

If Blake was surprised by the truth, she didn't show it. "That's... great." She then changed the topic. "Weiss... I need you to do me a favor."

My eyes met hers. "Anything."

She undid her ribbon, and what I saw was a bit ghastly.

A bloddy puncture in the flesh of her right kitty ear.

"Blake, you-"

"Just cut your palm a little. I'm not going to bite."

I wasn't sure where this was going at first. Then, I did as she asked. I grasped Myrtenaster and sliced across my palm slightly, letting just enough blood flow. I let it drip into a small cup. While I did this, I eyed the faunus with far more suspicion than before.

"When?"

"Just tonight," she explained. "Nora assaulted me just after sunset. I didn't know what was happening until she was already trying to bite my ear off."

"For what it's worth," I told her, "you're taking this surprisingly well. Nora went full Nosferatu after being bitten..."

"And I'm still sane," Blake finished. "I was just as surprised as you. Maybe it's a faunus thing. Or maybe I'm just lucky." She grabbed the cup and poured its contents down her throat. "But Weiss... I'm not going to leave. Whoever did this to Nora- and by extension, me- is going to get found, and I'll die before I run away again."

I wiped off my hand, letting Blake have a bit more of my blood before I grasped a bandage. "As long as you don't kill anyone. And personally?" I looked at Ruby's snoring, motionless form. "We should keep this between us. Just this once, 'no more secrets' can wait."

The fledgling Nosferatu nodded. "I do have ONE more question, though."

I raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"

"If Nora isn't the original Nosferatu... who did they target?"

My eyes widened in horror. I realized that there would be two victims of that night. And while one of them was safe enough in the comfort of our room...

...the other might already be gone.

* * *

**_CHAPTER. Woo! If you couldn't tell, I rolled "Corrupt Blake" and rolled with it. Nora's escape was super fun to write. And while no new meat was introduced, a new plot device was: Vampire Blake. Ohhh boy._**

**_As a side note, I'm cutting Sage, Scarlet, Russel, Dove, and Sky from the pecking order, as Cardin and Sun's teammates (excepting Neptune) are all throwaway characters._**

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Living_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Converted (C4)_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Living_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Living_**

**_Nora Valkyrie - Converted (C3), Escaped (C4)_**

**_Orson Drew - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Qrow Branwen - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Living_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Living_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Living_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Yin Kasumi - Living_**

**_PS: Please review. I want to hear your feedback, and whether I'm doing a good job thus far._**


	5. Sunset

**_(I didn't really write an AN for this one, so just bear with me.)_**

**_Chapter 5: Sunset_**

* * *

"No..."

Blake had found our enemy's newest victim. I'd hoped it would be someone we didn't know. I'd actually been prepared for that. But, unfortunately, it WASN'T somebody we didn't know. Far from it.

Of course, it was Sun we'd found, lifeless and bloodied, in the halls.

I tried to speak. I tried to comfort her. But no words came. It was official. This was personal.

* * *

That day had been somber. Ren was dampened by Nora's absence. Ruby was annoyed that the vampire hadn't been found. Emmi, of course, was screaming like a madman, accusing everyone in the room of being the hidden Nosferatu.

But Neptune and Blake were definitely taking last night hardest. I almost understood what they were going through. My family had been torn asunder by the White Fang years ago. But I'd always been on the recieving end of comfort. I'd never given it myself.

"With Sun gone," Neptune said at the table that day, "it's going to be a lot less lively..." Tears fell from his eyes as he said it. "Why? Why Sun? It should have been me..."

"No one cares about you," Cardin told him. "If it'd been you, no one except maybe Sun would be crying."

"CARDIN!" Jaune shouted angrily, but I raised my hand to silence him.

"He has a point," I said. "The Nosferatu is a sub-species of Grimm. It leeches off of negativity. We established that when Yatsuhashi died. Making us all depressed is what it wants."

"I'm not sure I understand," questioned Penny. "Why attack in such an erratic manner? Especially when one could easily ravage the school in any other manner..."

"Because it's playing off of our feelings," I reminded her. "As much as we all care for Neptune, I think more of us were good friends with Sun. It's striking where it can sow the most negativity."

"Or," Yin suggested, "it's literally just acting on instinct. If it really was that smart, why randomly assault my teammate when nobody really knew us before this whole mess started?"

"Whatever the case," Cardin said, standing up, "Sun is dead. And we're no closer to our killer than before."

Emmi growled. "Do any of you even give a damn about the facts?" she roared. "People are dying, Winchester. And instead of mourning, you and the rest of these first-years are too busy trying to find our murderer."

"Oh, really," chuckled Cardin. "Just two seconds ago, you were accusing left and right, doing exactly what you're scolding us for. This isn't about Liam anymore, princess. And it hasn't been since we found Yatsuhashi's body. It's been about keeping more people from meeting the same fate."

Emmi's eyes narrowed in rage. "You are an uncaring, emotionless asshole, Cardin. No wonder we've never seen you cry."

"Yeah, I get it. I'm an asshole. But I'm also a huntsman, Wynn. And huntsmen protect people. All you ever cared about was avenging Liam, regardless of how many more people have to die to do it. I'm a bully, but I'm also smart enough to realize that revenge only leaves you empty." He looked back at Jaune and Pyrrha. "A lesson I was taught by the very people I hated most. But if all you want is to kill the Nosferatu because of what it HAS done compared to what it WILL do? Maybe I'm not the uncaring, emotionless asshole."

As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone in the room gasped. When Cardin spoke, we'd expected his typical boorish, nasty insults. What we got was much more- a bit of a reality check from Cardin Winchester, of all people.

Emmi crossed her arms. "Fine. Be that way. But you have no idea what you've done."

She stormed off, leaving her half-eaten lunch at the table. Yin and Orson watched their teammate storm off, a look of worry on their faces.

Yang just had to kill the mood. "So, is she gonna come back and eat that?"

* * *

Emmi and Cardin's argument had put us in a bad mood for the rest of the day. Velvet and I agreed to meet with Yang and Ren to see if Nora's condition had caused her any further issues. Unsurprisingly, she'd already sent Ren three letters within the first fourteen hours of her absence.

"Dear Ren," I read aloud, deciding to combine the three rather short letters for clarity's sake. "What's up? I've been okay, I guess. It's been a little shaky, but I've managed. I'm not dead yet, so that's a plus.

"I've had a lot of meat to myself out here. Not saying you should try to get converted or anything. I do miss you though."

"How's Team RWBY holding up without me around? Do they miss me? Oh, wait, what about Jaune and Pyrrha? They're our teammates, should have asked about them first."

I looked back through each one. "Wait, these are all only one paragraph. This isn't a letter, it's the kind of note one passes in class!"

Yang looked at one of the letters. "P.S.: I sent a bag of blood with the letters. I hope you find a use for it." She scanned the area, finding the bag in question. "Aww, she really does care. She even gave us bait."

I quickly realized what I was going to have to do for Blake's sake. "Yang, we should find a place to hide this. Like you said, it's bait."

Velvet arched an eyebrow. "But... didn't she send it to Ren, though?"

"Trust me," I said. "We'll have to hide it. It's the only way we can guaruntee it stays away from the creature."

"Whatever you say," Ren replied. "Although I suppose Nora could have at least sent us something saner."

Yang smiled. "I know, right?" she asked. "This is so weird to get in the mail."

To this, Ren cracked a smile of his own. "This is actually one of her more normal gifts."

* * *

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Living_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Converted (C4)_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Living_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Living_**

**_Nora Valkyrie - Converted (C3), Escaped (C4)_**

**_Orson Drew - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Qrow Branwen - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Murdered (C5)_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Living_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Living_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Yin Kasumi - Living_**


	6. King of Beasts

**_SO! I didn't write an A/N for last chapter because that one was minor. Thus one? HAhahaaaa... NOPE._**

**_Chapter 6: King of _****_Beasts_**

* * *

"What and how?"

Yang's jaw hung open as we stared at the body. Up to this point, things may seem the standard fare for stories like this. Today marked when everything REALLY went head-first to hell.

* * *

We'd all started our day normally, of course. Team RWBY had all been feeling terrible since Sun's murder. As we all gathered in the main hall a few weeks and murders later, a sense of unease filled the room. I realized, in horror, that everyone was still present.

Considering the beast's trends up to now, that meant that it was a dead day.

"Why is it," Blake asked later that afternoon, as we were returning to our room, "that just when we think we're going to find some clue, this thing makes a friend out of one of its foes?"

"Most likely," I said, "it doesn't want us to find the truth. And I've been developing a theory as to how Nora's bite failed to drain your soul."

"Have you, now?" she asked. "All right, let's hear it."

"She wasn't a Nosferatu for more than twenty-four hours when she bit you," I stated. "I feel like whoever the main one is, they've been playing the part much, MUCH longer."

"That..." she began, "...actually makes sense." She was about to continue, but she was interrupted by a loud rustle above us.

I looked up. "There's something in the vents," I realized. "Blake... be careful."

She nodded, putting one hand to Gambol Shroud. I gripped my own weapon at the same time. I poked at the vent... and that's when everything dropped. Literally- the vents broke open. and half a dozen men in white masks dropped out. Three in front of us, three behind.

"The White Fang?" my teammate asked dumbfounded. "But... how? Beacon is suposed to be-"

"Extra secure?" spoke another voice. "Oh, Blake. You know as well as I that no security system is foolproof. And besides, your teammates have already found every possible entrance... and exit." Another faunus leapt out of the grate. He had red hair, bull horns, and a painted mask.

Blake's eyes narrowed. "Adam. Only you would ambush us when there's a Nosferatu on the prowl."

"All the easier to kill the heiress here," he said, drawing a bright red blade. "We can pin it on the roaming Grimm."

"Okay, time out," I said. "What the hell? We were just talking-"

"About a rather interesting topic," Adam finished. "So... the black beauty is amongst the undead now. Interesting. And here I'd thought she'd had nothing more to hide." He crossed his arms, smiling. "What else? What about how you supported my methods in the Fang over your own father's?"

"You've changed," Blake said. "You used to want equality, but now all you want is revenge. Adam, don't you get it? Don't you understand what happens when you allow revenge to dominate you?"

He didn't flinch. "This is what I live for," he said. "For the suffering of all faunus, everywhere, we need to fight back! Or have you grown soft, letting humans tell you what to do, just like the hundreds who died in Atlas' Dust mines?"

"Okay, I see where you're coming from," I said, much to Blake's horror. "I understand what you're saying. My family has caused more suffering than I would be willing to bear. But I don't believe that faunus are any lesser beings than humans. Once, there was a time when I did..." I looked away from Blake. "It almost cost me a friend. I'm never making that mistake again."

"Absolutely adorable," Adam replied. "But actions speak louder than words, Schnee. When the hammer falls, who do you think is more likely to pay the bill? The humans? Oh, no, not remotely, not when the ever-expendable half-breeds can pay ot for them. When your father needed extra workers, does he open up new jobs? No, he instead enslaves countless faunus, whom he sees as mere animals, and then we're forced to work for our lives under his iron grip."

He tore his mask away from his face. His eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw the fullest extent of my father's treatment of the faunus. The man's eye was scarred, branded. It was painful to even look at.

"Tell me what you see," he asked me.

I half-heartedly looked into his eyes again. "Jacques Schmee branded you like an animal... That mark is a sign that you were Schnee family property." I winced. "Blake helped me realize that my father was far more wicked than I thought, but... Gods."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Don't try to empathize with me," he said. "You and I are alike. You always had a rather potent hatred of the White Fang. You always said we were no better than the Grimm."

I shook my head. "I fully believe that the White Fang is just as corrupt as I'd initially believed. But it wasn't always like that, was it?"

Blake shook her head. "Adam, you made me a promise. A promise that one day, faunus and humans would be able to live in harmony. The White Fang was founded by my father fot that purpose. But now, with how many innocents you've killed? You've become no better than the slavers."

Adam pondered her words. "It's what we deserve, Blake."

A loud string of gunshots rung out nearby, coming from the mess hall. I glared at the Fangsmen, but not one of them seemed to know what just happened. Even Adam was in full shock.

"That wasn't me..."

* * *

With Adam trailing us, most likely trying to decide how to kill us, we came out into the mess hall, where it looked like there had been an utter massacre.

"What the..." I began, looking across the room. It was tragic. There had likely been hundreds of students in this room, and now at least a hundred of them lay dead on the floor. Over a hundred more still drew breath, but were horribly wounded. My eyes drifted over to Cardin, who was cradling Velvet in his arms, with Coco close behind him.

"Come on, Velvet," he said. "Don't do this to me, Vel..."

The faunus coughed. "C- Cardin?" she sputtered. "Why would you... want to..."

The former class bully shook his head. "Sure, I picked on you, but I was just trying to..." He paused as a black liquid began seeping out of her wounds.

"Got her."

Our eyes turned to spot, of course, Emmi Wynn. She was holding Coco's chaingun, which looked like it had just been emptied.

"Sure, there was some collateral," she said, "but it's finally over." She locked eyes with Velvet, whose own eyes began to take on a reddish tinge. "How long did you think you could hide it, Scarlatina?"

Velvet tried to speak, but couldn't find the breath to do it. Cardin, though, certainly could.

"Who's the real monster here?" he angrily asked her. "Over a hundred students dead, their bodies riddled with bullets from a stolen weapon. All so what? So you could prove a point? Find one of at LEAST two Nosferatu?"

Wynn marched over to them, twirling a stake between her fingertips. "You aren't the important one here, and neither were any of them. "The point is, I'm about to neutralize a great threat. You should be thankful!"

"Thankful that you massacred all of these students?" Coco interrupted. "So many of them were willing to give their lives to protect the world-"

"And they have," Emmi replied. "Their deaths were a necessary sacrifice. Now, allow me to end Demon Bunny's life, and perhaps the God of Destruction will pity her."

She raised the stake, when someone grabbed her arm. They have to have been strong, or else she would have broken free.

"That's enough," came the voice... of Ozpin.

* * *

**_CHAPTER. So, Ozpin and (surprisingly) Adam have entered the story. Oddly enough, before Neo or Glynda. Am I overextending this at all? Also, Emmi is now in REAL trouble... I feel like Blake seeing this is making her think, "And I thought _Adam _was delusional!"_**

**_Also, the roll for this round was, obviously, "Corrupt Velvet." Dear lord... I've also basically stealth-confirmed a crack pairing that would never work in canon. It just happened, OK_**?

**_Adam Taurus - Living_**

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Living_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Converted (C4)_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Living_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Living_**

**_Nora Valkyrie - Converted (C3), Escaped (C4)_**

**_Orson Drew - Living_**

**_Ozpin - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Qrow Branwen - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Murdered (C5)_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Converted (C6)_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_** **_(Duh.)_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Living_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Yin Kasumi - Living_**

**_A/N 2: I added Blake and Cardin to the character tags because of their increased presence._**


	7. The Warriors' Tears

**_Chapter 7: The Warriors' Tears_**

* * *

We all stared at our headmaster, who was holding our classmate's arm in the air.

"Let me go, professor," Emmi growled. "I've almost slain her-"

"Indeed you have," Ozpin replied. "Along with several of your classmates who merely wanted to live amidst these dark times. Did you never consider the amount of damage you would be causing, the number of people you'd be killing?"

"A necessary evil," she said. "They were-"

"Willing to die to uncover the truth," continued the gray-haired headmaster. "Well, miss Wynn, you've continued to overlook so much in your pursuit of revenge. For one, Velvet may be a Nosferatu... but she isn't the only one. You, of all people, should have realized this. You have made yourself guilty of mass murder, larceny, and vandalization within the last thirty minutes. Were I any other man, I would have you killed. But I have not."

He looked away. "I had seen your potential as a Huntress. But the most I can do for you now is to tell you to seek training elsewhere. Perhaps Leonardo has a scolarship open at Haven Academy. Or maybe General Ironwood at Atlas Academy. I am showing you mercy by not turning you over to the authorities. But one thing is for certain- Beacon will no longer be teaching you. Your soul has been twisted by dreams of relentless revenge. The last I met who held to such beliefs nearly destroyed the world."

"I'm not gonna destroy the world," Emmi roared. "I'm trying to save it!"

"She said that, too," Ozpin finished. "Listen, Wynn. I have told several of my students that the amount of mistakes I have made far outnumbers that of any man, woman, or child on Remnant. Perhaps one of the biggest was not arriving sooner so I could calm your spirit. All I can offer you now is safe transit out of Vale."

Port and Oobleck soon arrived, and were quick to restrain Emmi. They dragged her off, the stake in her hands rolling to Ozpin's feet. As they pulled her away, Adam winced. "I get it, universe," he groaned. "Stop being a vengeful craphead..."

"And as for the rest of you," he said, referring to the last six of us. "I'm sure none of you expected this. In fact, one of you isn't even one of my students. But the fact of the matter is, we've suffered a great loss today. The death of a hundred was sure to cause a spike in negativity. Sure enough, there are now Grimm surrounding the academy. But I fear it must now spike once more, not because of the murder of a hundred." He looked to face Cardin, Coco, and Velvet. "The death of one can be just as saddening."

He picked the stake up from the ground, and handed it to Coco. "I'm afraid that you have little choice in the matter. Were it possible, I would have looked for a way to save her. But this Nosferatu is old enough to have poisoned her very soul. I'm so sorry."

Coco looked to her Grimm teammate, who was tearfully smiling. "It's..." spoke Velvet, "It's gonna be okay, Coco. You're going to be okay..."

Her team leader didn't look okay. She was crying. Her signature shades must have fallen off, but even they would have been unable to betray the flood of tears pouring from her eyes.

"I can't kill you, Velvet," she said. "I can't..."

"You at least have to try." The former faunus was firm in her words. "If you don't... I'll hurt more people... I could hurt you. I don't want to..."

Cardin grasped Coco's wrist with his own. "I don't want to do it either. But we have to. She's going to be just another one of them if we don't do it. I think she'd rather die as herself."

Both of them nodded. They allowed Blake and I to say our goodbyes to Velvet. Then, Ozpin spoke with her for a bit. Finally, they spoke to her themselves. I had never expected to attend a premature funeral, but here we were, giving our goodbyes.

"Just get it over with," Velvet cried, even though there was a smile on her face. "At least... I get to die with my friends nearby."

There was a silent, mournful pause. The hands of both Coco Adel and Cardin Winchester gripped the wooden stake.

Then, in one glorious, tragic motion, they brought a tearful end to the life of Velvet Scarlatina.

* * *

Ozpin gathered all that was left of us in the courtyard later that evening.

"Friends, students, faculty," he began. "I have witnessed many a tragedy in my life. But as huntsmen and huntresses, it is our duty to prevent such tragedy. As of tonight, over twenty-five percent of the student body of Beacon has perished. No doubt, the Wynn family will be given immense lawsuits for their daughter's actions. But the true mark of a huntsman isn't being able to slay hundreds in order to find the truth. It's having the strength to persevere through tragedy." To this, he faced Neptune and Orson. "It's being able to make difficult decisions despite the dangers if those decisions are wrong." He eyed Yang and Ren now. "And it's the ability to do the right thing, even when you must hurt those you love most to do it." Cardin and Coco recieved his gaze.

"As of tomorrow," he said, "I am giving every one of you the authority to investigate each other's living quarters. For clarity's sake, none of you will be allowed to deny another entry. This invasion of privacy, however, has merit. I believe that this will be the easiest way for us to find the truth."

As we all (mostly) agreed, Cinder and her team approached me. They had with them a dark-haired girl who I can only assume was their Neo. She didn't look anything like Torchwick's henchwoman. I shugged off my suspicions, and allowed my icy blue eyes to make contact with Cinder's golden ones.

"This is certainly more... interesting... than I had thought," she said. "I suppose your team has had few complications, though. It still seems to be unified."

"Absolutely," I lied. I wasn't going to tell her the truth. As I scanned the crowd, I recognized that RWBY and CMSN were the last two teams fully standing, at least that I knew of. It was sad seeing how much things had fallen apart.

"You... wouldn't be interested in helping me search?" I asked. "I feel like your team is going to be on the lookout for anything suspicious."

"Why not?" she said. "I'm sure these three can care for themselves. Assumimg they can tolerate Mercury's flirting."

"For the record," Merc added, "I think they're falling for my charms."

To which Neo whacked him on the head with her parasol. and Emerald kicked him in the balls.

* * *

Our team returned home early that night. Ozpin had spoken. By dawn tomorrow, we'd likely all be digging through someone else's room. Blake stared out the window as she finished the "tea" I'd prepared for her.

"How long?" she asked. "How long is this monster going to plague our academy?"

"Until we stop them," I stated. "Everyone, tomorrow we're officially allowed to investigate our fellow teams' rooms. And I say this: We should use a pattern of searching where one of us pairs with a member of another team and searches the room of a third."

"Why?" Yang asked.

"Well," I began, "it's simple logic. With this method, we're keeping in pairs, pairs that we can question, while checking on a room that our culprit cannot defend."

"I wholeheartedly agree with Weiss' plan," Ruby announced. "And also, I call Penny."

I rolled my eyes. "You would. Cinder agreed with me earlier to team up, and if that ends up being a dud, there's always Pyrrha."

"I could work with anyone," Blake suggested. "But we need answers, and there's only one person at this school who can reliably get them..." She winced for a moment. "I'll ask Adam."

"Then I'll try to hold up with Coco, assuming she agrees," Yang finished. "Just a couple of girls like us, staying cool and-"

A loud blasting noise caused us to put our plans on hold for a moment. The four of us rushed outside to face the bloodied hallway before us. A Nosferatu's corpse- one I recognized as Cardin's teammate Sky- lay before us, a stake in his chest. But that wasn't what made us quake. No, that was what was at the end of the hall- another body with a stake in its chest. The corpse had bite marks on his head, and seemed to be holding a stake cannon pointed toward himself. A pair of glasses lay on the floor nearby, fractured.

And as we stared at what was left of Dr. Oobleck, Yang said the one thing that was on everyone's mind.

"What and how?"

* * *

**_Adam Taurus - Living_**

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Slain (C7)_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Converted (C4)_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Expelled (C7)_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neo Politan - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Living_**

**_Nora Valkyrie - Converted (C3), Escaped (C4)_**

**_Orson Drew - Living_**

**_Ozpin - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Qrow Branwen - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Murdered (C5)_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Converted (C6), Slain (C7)_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Living_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Yin Kasumi - Living_**

**_A\N: I kid you not, I cried during the writing of this chapter- especially during Velvet's death scene. I swear I only made it worse by having Cardin and Coco being the ones to seal the deal._**


	8. The Gears of Fate

**_All right, I'm ready to dive back in._**

**_(Rolls)_**

**_Oh god... we're gonna be here a while._**

**_CHAPTER 8: The Gears of Fate_**

* * *

Most of the student body stared at Oobleck's lifeless form for some time. At first, we didn't know what to do with him. He was the first faculty member to actually DIE like this.

"I think," Coco said aloud, "he took down Sky, but got bit in the process... He killed himself to protect us."

"But Sky has to have been the first, right?" asked Jaune. "I mean, didn't we establish that Velvet was today's victim?"

"Well..." I began, skating a thin line between truth and deception for Blake's sake, "That's not... the _only_ possibility. There's a chance that Velvet got Sky before she was killed."

"How would you think that?" Neptune asked. "You weren't there, right?"

"No, but..." I paused. "During her escape, Nora bit someone. I... took care of that situation, but it proves something- it's entirely possible that either Velvet or Sky, whichever one came first, was able to infect the other on their first night."

Cinder closed her eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen," she said. "None of this was. If this Grimm hadn't entered the school, we'd probably be getting ready to set off for Amity Colusseum by now for the Vytal Festival."

"A festival which," added Coco, "will certainly have to be put on hold. With this monster in the school, we have no possible way to even guaruntee that the tournament will go on I lost half of my team now, and CRDL, JNPR and SSSN are also each down a member. But even if teams like CMSN and RWBY stay intact, this is too big a deal to just drop."

"Yeah," Yang finished, "this has to stop. And it has to stop soon. I'm sick and tired of watching people die."

My eyes crossed the room. Everyone seemed on edge. From my team alone, we had Ruby, who was starting to get really scared. So was Yang, but she was more worried for the sake of her sister and uncle. I was worried for half the people in this one room. But Blake was worried for a different reason... and we all know what that reason is now, so I won't go over it now.

We wound up burying Oobleck outside the school. His grave was honestly nothing special. But it would mean a lot to us. Actually, we'd lined up a lot more gravestones outside, too, each with their own epitath:

_LIAM PRYCE - You were the first. But the first isn't always the least._

_YATSUHASHI DAICHI - The biggest men leave the largest voids._

_SUN WUKONG - Fun in a barrel, now shut forever._

_VELVET SCARLATINA - Our little lost rabbit, never to return._

_SKY LARK - Forgotten by many, pitied by all._

_BARTHOLOMEW OOBLECK - We never understood you until it was too late._

As we read each epitath, we felt more of ourselves die inside. Velvet, Sun, and now Oobleck- all of them had been close friends. And now they were gone. Blake pointed out that Adam was staring at the area where Velvet and Sun's graves were.

"This thing doesn't take sides," he muttered. "Gods... Human, faunus, it doesn't matter what you are anymore. This monster hunts all. This has to stop..."

I stared at him for a moment. "Adam, are you angry at a monster that kills humans?"

"I'm not in this for your kind, Schnee," he said. "And I never will be. But as long as that creature draws breath, the world is in danger." He turned to Blake. "I joined the White Fang to make the worls a better place for faunus everywhere. And if that means helping the same humans that enslave us..." He paused for a moment. "Then so be it. I'm not about to watch the world burn because of one Grimm."

"I'm glad you're starting to be less of a vengeful craphead," Blake replied. "I can only imagine what you would have been like if you hadn't tried to strike against mankind while we were in the Fang together."

He smiled for a moment, looking first at her, then me, then at Ruby and Yang. "But then you wouldn't even be here," he replied. "Guess you're lucky I took so damn long to change my mind."

* * *

The next morning, as I had proposed, we broke off into groups. Everyone did. Not just RWBY, but every team at Beacon had adopted my "cross-team partnership" strategy. I remember pushing open the door to team CPPR's dorm room- that was Penny's team, she was the first "P"- and beckoning for my dark-haired companion to follow.

The room was just as I'd expected it to be. It was a normal bedroom for four normal people. I don't know what I'd been expecting.

"It seems normal enough," I told Cinder. "We should double-check though, just to be safe."

The two of us wound up frisking through the whole room. Two of the beds turned up with no clues whatsoever. The other two, though, were... most interesting.

"Look at this," Cinder said, pointing to one of the beds. One end of the bed was dented, as if whoever slept in it had hit their head on it particularly hard.

"So it's a dent," I pointed out. "So what?"

"Look at the dented area," she elaborated. "There seems to be copper-colored paint chipped off on this steel."

"Chipped off?" I asked. "Wouldn't that mean something painted in a copper tone-"

"Hit the bed?" she finished. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too." She then pulled the matress off of the bed-

-and screamed.

"What is it?" I frantically asked. But when I looked down, I saw. The area beneath the bed was hollow, almost like a box. In fact, without the matress covering it, one wouldn't even know there was a secret compartment.

A secret compartment with a dead body in it.

Specifically, the dead body of some sort of snake faunus, his forked tongue and scaled back clear to see. Dried blood pooled in the bottom of the boy's makeshift coffin, staining his black hair red. It almost looked like Ruby's hair- if Ruby's hair were dyed with blood instead of naturally multi-toned. Still not sure how THAT happened.

"What the..." I began, looking for answers. I turned over his body, and saw the all-too-familiar bite mark on his neck. "Ah."

Cinder finally regained her composure. "So... there's a Nosferatu in Team CPPR, then?"

"Not necessarily," I said, "but most likely. Still, it's entirely possible he could have been planted here as a cover-up, and as a possible framing device."

"That makes sense," she replied. "Although... we still have another bed to check."

I lifted the matress of the fourth, perfectly normal bed. Underneath it was something I had not expected to see.

"Is that..." I thought aloud. "No way... This is the blood bag Nora sent Ren after she escaped."

"What would THAT be doing here?" Cinder asked. "It doesn't seem to be open."

I paused. Then, I thought of my answer.

"Emmi!" I shouted. "She's so paranoid, she'd be able to find anything. We passed this to Yang to hide, but..."

"Of course!" She facepalmed. "She hid the bag under the victim's bed, planning to make the night a stakeout. However, she was expelled yesterday, preventing that. She set the trap, but she wasn't here to spring it."

My eyes drifted back to the unfortunate soul Emmi had likely intended to use as collateral. "So this was his bed," I thought aloud. "But then, why was he hidden under the other one? No, HOW was he hidden under the other one? The bed had to have someone sleeping in it."

"Hm..." thought Cinder. "If I had to guess, I'd say either the occupant of the bed above his coffin is already in the ground, or they're our culprit."

The sound of the doorknob behind us jostled us awake. We turned around to see a bright red cloak almost slapping me in the face.

"Weiss!" cried Ruby, a smile on her face. "Glad you're okay! I was just bringing Penny back to her room- we were looking through the JNPR dorm, and we found a lot of really weird stuff, but nothing was super clue-worthy, other than stuff that Nora was involved with..." Her smile started to fade. "What's going on?"

I closed my eyes, trying to explain. "We found another body, Ruby." As the words left my mouth, Penny dashed by my side to see her fallen teammate.

"Python?" she asked. "Python... please, wake up..."

* * *

Another stretch of sadness followed as we buried another one of our own. Ruby, Cinder and I had never met Python Vince, but somehow we all felt some sort of pity for him.

_PYTHON VINCE - Cold-blooded, but warm-hearted._

That has to be one of the cheeziest things I've ever seen engraved on a tombstone, but Penny liked it, so there was no arguing.

The day wasn't over yet, though. Yang and Coco soon arrived with their report on Team CMSN's quarters. By now, Adam and Blake had returned, so they were present.

And Yang revealed so much more than expected. It wasn't about Python's murder. It wasn't even related to the case. It was about Cinder.

"You have a lot to tell us," she started. "Beginning with this." She held out a dark red notebook. Almost immediately, Cinder shot a fireball at the notebook, incinerating it.

"Okay, first off?" Yang said. "Touchy. Second, awesome Semblance. And third? A good investigator always copies the documents. And I read them, too. Anyone here care to guess what Cinder's hiding?" Her eyes were red- not blood-red, like the nosferatu, but more of her famous, Angry Yang red.

We were about to ask when Penny's teammates, Ciel and Randall, pulled Cinder away and began asking questions about Python's death. Among all of the questions that were asked, most of them were about the attack itself. We told them our theory, but then Ciel asked the kicker.

"Okay, but what I want to know is: What was Python's corpse doing under Penny's bed?"

Penny's bed?

Oh gods, no.

* * *

Yang had gone back to the RWBY dorm in order to prepare our team for the truth about Cinder. The CMSN leader stayed behind me and Blake, knowing she would have to answer for everything. We turned the corner, about to walk straight towards the room. But then we saw- and heard- something absolutely terrifying.

Our eyes told us that Ruby was outside the dorms, with what was probably the most panicked look in the world on her face. She was holding the door shut. We heard her terrified whimpers... and we also heard a low, inhuman growl from behind the door.

I knew exactly what was behind that door. I gulped. Blake looked horrified, having realized who the monster had decided to visit tonight. Even Cinder looked uncomfortable with the situation. I paced toward the door, reaching into my satchel and pulling out one of the stakes Oobleck had provided me with.

I let Ruby step back from the door, and grasped the doorknob. I turned it to face the nosferatu within, tears already beginning to flow; and then I swung my arm, letting the stake fly.

* * *

That night was straight out of a horror movie. The good news was that I'd killed the nosferatu. The bad news is that it left Ruby in tears and Blake in denial.

That night, the three of us held a private funeral. All of us spoke some words in the victim's memory, Ruby most of all. The rest of the class, one by one, joined in, apparently not having gotten the memo that the funeral was "private," but that was a blessing in disguise. Our final moments with the victim were quiet.

I remember Qrow being the last to speak. He said there would never be anyone else with that kind of attitude. And that he would try to make sure Ruby didn't meet the same fate.

We lowered the body into the grave after that. I couldn't really read the tombstone through my tears, but later, Blake would recall its words to me. I've been haunted ever since that night- the night I killed my first nosferatu.

The night I killed a close friend.

_YANG XIAO LONG - Even the most beautiful flames eventually flicker out_.

* * *

**_A\N: Oh dear god. I actually killed off Yang._**

**_Deep down, I knew this day would come. Yang was my favorite RWBY character for a long time, and when I started this fic I somehow had a sneaking suspicion that I would have to terminate her life. But having to do it now... Geez, what a mood I'm in._**

**_Also, I started crying back when I was writing the epitaths for the other dead characters (Velvet especially)._****_ I also added Cinder to fill out the "featured characters" tags. So that's nice._**

**_Adam Taurus - Living_**

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Slain (C7)_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Converted (C4)_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Expelled (C7)_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neo Politan - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Living_**

**_Nora Valkyrie - Converted (C3), Escaped (C4)_**

**_Orson Drew - Living_**

**_Ozpin - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living*_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Qrow Branwen - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Murdered (C5)_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Converted (C6), Slain (C7)_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Converted, Slain (C8)_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Yin Kasumi - Living_**

**_-Technically, Penny is SUSPICIOUS due to a body found under her bed. But she's not confirmed dead or converted._**


	9. Draconic Aftermath

**Chapter 9**

**Draconic Aftermath**

* * *

A few days after Yang's death, I'd managed to recover enough that I was able to function properly. Blake had recovered the day prior, but she hadn't yet fully gotten over Yang. I hadn't either, but I was taking it better. Which sounds incredibly cold-hearted to say, but hear me out- out of my whole team, she was the one I had the least connection with. I could live with her gone... even if it DID still take a major emotional toll on me.

Ruby was a different story.

"She hasn't moved since Yang died," I explained to the rest of the students at lunch. "Gods, I've seen depressed, but..."

"First Nora leaves, then we lose Sun, now Yang?" Jaune thought aloud. "Man, this thing just hates fun."

Cardin socked him in the shoulder. "Wake up, blondie," he said. "Your first friend's sister just died, and that's how you react?"

There had, obviously, been a few more murders since I had been forced to kill my blonde teammate. However, they were minor in comparison. While most of the deaths up to this point and after it hadn't stood out- with Velvet and Oobleck being the most notable of those- Yang's was one that left a giant void. She had known at least half the student body personally, and was responsible for most class parties we held after a big test.

Things wouldn't be the same without her.

"We can't let anyone else die," Pyrrha said, standing up. "The Nosferatu are a threat we have to stop, even if it costs us our lives."

JNPR's ace spoke in a well-meaning fashion, but even so, I saw Blake wincing. The faunus' life was in just as much danger as the rest of us, even if she was actually undead.

"I second," Emerald added. "So many people dying... It all feels so unnatural."

As the rest of the student body began to agree, I felt a hand grabbing my wrist. I looked up to see Fox glaring at me with pale, blinded eyes.

"Weiss... We need to tak about Blake."

* * *

He dragged me into the hallway, a disturbed frown on his face.

"Slow down!" I growled. "Unhand me this instant! What is it about Blake?"

"She's one of them," Fox bluntly said. My face contorted in shock- not to hear the news, I'd known since Nora's break-out, but to hear that someone else knew.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You heard me," he said. "It's been over a month, the student body has dwindled, and she's long past turned. Need evidence? Did she ever order her meat rare before?"

"That's a coincidence," I told him.

"Well, okay, but she's cleaned the blood out of various crime scenes- and ONLY the blood. That enough?"

"Suspicious, but not proof."

"And why are you so defensive right now, anyway...?" He paused, and closed his eyes. "You knew, didn't you?"

I crossed my arms. "One. You have no proof. And two. If I were, in fact, in league with a Nosferatu, what reasons would I have for concealing it?"

"A lot, actually," he said. "She's been your friend for what? Four and a half months now? And besides, I heard you were really hesitant to kill Yang-"

"D- Don't talk about that," I quickly stammered.

"You're averted to losing your friends," he realized. "So was I. But all this death, all this trauma? I dunno, I guess I just kinda... got numb to it." He shook his head. "Agh, that's not the point! Look, Weiss, sooner or later you're going to have to take a side. And if you keep standing by Blake... You're not going to like how it ends."

The Faunus stormed off, leaving me to ponder all that he said. I looked back to the cafeteria doors, sighing.

Blake was on a thin line between mystery and discovery. And if I didn't act soon, she'd end up like the rest of them, like Yang.

I had to do something. But what?

* * *

That night brought me a terrible nightmare. I wish it weren't so vivid still.

I was in the part of school that had basically turned into a cemetery. I walked past the graves, but instead of various people that already had died, they were the names of people I knew well. Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake... I eventually saw Ruby at the one that I clearly remember was (and, in the real world, still is) Yang's.

She stood up, and raced towards me, her eyes full of tears. She cried out for me, and I reached to embrace her. But what I saw next was horrifying. My hand shot straight towards her chest, turning pale and clawed as it did.

My hand impaled her heart in an instant, leading her to tearfully choke a single response: "You're just like all the others."

As she keeled over, dying, I began to hear voices, the voices of my many friends, asking what they'd done to deserve this. But I distinctly remember one over the rest- Blake, and she was now awash in tears.

I remember clawing a hole in Ruby's chest, with her still hauntingly breathing. I scooped out blood and poured it down my throat. But what haunted me most was my own response.

"Aren't you happy, Blake? I'm just like you now."

* * *

I awoke with a start. Looking to my left, I saw Blake, still slumbering on a now half-empty bed. I held my hands in front of my face. Not too pale, not clawed. Completely normal hands.

"Bad dream?" I heard Ruby ask. This was the first time she had spoken since Yang's funeral.

"Like you wouldn't believe," I said. My eyes rose back to Blake. She turned over in bed, and I swear I saw the gleam of a fang in the moonlight. "It's just... The past month or so has given us so much pain and stress. I think it's getting to us."

Ruby had been putting away Yang's belongings, her eyes looking dull and void. But as she was, she pulled out the Ember Celicas for a moment.

"We really should have buried her with these," she said, grimacing. "It would've been right."

She kept putting things away, but held onto the gauntlets. She stared at them for a moment.

"Maybe I don't have to take this," she said. "I could just stop worrying." She raised one of the two towards her head. "It'll only last a second, and then-"

"No!" I screamed, and before I knew it, I was on that side of the room and had slammed the gauntlet out of her hand. It clattered along the floor. My eyes met Ruby's and I knew exactly what she had just tried to do.

"Weiss-" she began, but I cut her off.

"Ruby Rose," I said. "You are one of the best people I have ever known. I miss Yang as much as you, but are you really going to throw your life away because of her?"

Her tear-stained face winced for a moment. "Well-"

"And besides," I continued, "you have so much more to live for. So many people who care about you, like your uncle, or Jaune, or Blake... or me. Think about how we'd feel."

She raised her eyebrow. "Why are you trying to stop me?" she asked.

"Because it's what Yang would have wanted, and what me and Blake still want. I don't want anyone else on this team to die."

Ruby was silent for a solid minute. Then, I heard Blake's voice.

"You're way better at motivational speaking than anyone else I know. And I need you too, Ruby." Turning to face her, I realized she still hadn't reverted to her normal self. I knew Ruby was now seeing Blake as what she had become.

Thankfully, she didn't care.

She pulled the two of us into a giant hug, still crying.

* * *

"So," Ruby asked in the halls the next morning, "First of all, what do we do about Blake, and also, who else knows?"

"Just Adam," I replied, "but Fox has his suspicions. I was going to tell Yang, but..."

"I see." She opened the dining hall doors, and I followed. We grabbed our food, and sat down. While we did, she scanned the room.

"Well, Weiss, do you want the good news or bad news?"

I let my head fall into my lap. "Dead day," I groaned. "What else?"

* * *

**A.N.: Hey, guys. So nobody died today. There are multiple reasons for that. This is more of a character-building chapter for what's left of RWBY. And it got freaking dark. Between Ruby contemplating suicide, Weiss' nightmare, Blake's vampiric dilemma, and Yang's death, this team almost has enough drama in it for there to be a web series.**

**Wait...**

**In the meantime, I've formally decided to add Weiss to the death roulette, under one condition: If I do land on her, she can't simply be "killed off," but only converted.**

**_Adam Taurus - Living_**

**_Bartholomew Oobleck - Slain (C7)_**

**_Blake Belladonna - Converted (C4)_**

**_Cardin Winchester - Living_**

**_Cinder Fall - Living_**

**_Coco Adel - Living_**

**_Emerald Sustrai - Living_**

**_Emmi Wynn - Expelled (C7)_**

**_Fox Alistair - Living_**

**_Jaune Arc - Living_**

**_Liam Pryce - Converted, Slain (C1)_**

**_Lie Ren - Living_**

**_Mercury Black - Living_**

**_Neo Politan - Living_**

**_Neptune Vasalias - Living_**

**_Nora Valkyrie - Converted (C3), Escaped (C4)_**

**_Ozpin - Living_**

**_Penny Polendina - Living_**

**_Peter Port - Living_**

**_Pyrrha Nikos - Living_**

**_Qrow Branwen - Living_**

**_Ruby Rose - Living_**

**_Sun Wukong - Murdered (C5)_**

**_Velvet Scarlatina - Converted (C6), Slain (C7)_**

**_Weiss Schnee - Living_**

**_Yang Xiao Long - Converted, Slain (C8)_**

**_Yatsuhashi Daichi - Murdered (C2)_**

**_Side note: Orson and Yin were pulled from the list due to lack of relevance without Emmi around._**

**Please leave a review. I enjoy hearing your thoughts on my work!**


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